


Son of the Sea

by Filius_Adversarii



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Oops, i went back through this and i had no direction whatsoever, im so sorry, maybe someone will enjoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:14:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27719401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Filius_Adversarii/pseuds/Filius_Adversarii
Summary: Ummmmmmmmm...enjoy young Percy and a very Sally centric story honestly. Whoops
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

Sally Jackson was an easy-going mom. No, really, she was. She had the patience of well-trained hunter and a heart so full of love it was a wonder it hadn’t burst by now. As she slowly rocked 1-year old Percy to sleep, she sang him a soft lullaby, more whispered than sung. After hours of wailing, she’d calmed him down enough for a nap. His blue pacifier bobbed slowly as he lay peacefully in his mother’s warm embrace. Sighing, she glanced at the microwave clock. (Super late time at night/early morning). “Well, Percy, Mommy has a choice to make. She can either stay up for the rest of the night with you so I can get to work on time, or, lay you down for bed and try to actually get some sleep so I can function.” Though Percy was not awake or capable of answering, he cuddled further into Sally’s arms. “Well, I guess that’s the answer to that,” she deadpanned, shifting Percy to one arm so she could fix herself a pot of coffee for her all-nighter.

As Sally was waiting for her liquid energy to finish brewing, she walked the short distance from the kitchen area to the window in the living/bedroom of her tiny Manhattan apartment. Gazing out of the window, her only view was the brick alleyway and the fire escape that led down to it. ‘We’re safe here, for now. We don’t have to worry. Olympus is only a few miles away.’ Though the entrance to Olympus, hidden within the Empire State Building, truly was only a few miles away from her, the Pantheon couldn’t be any further from her reach. No mortals, like herself, could set foot upon the sacred grounds.

Turning away from the depressing view of the alley, Sally checked on the coffee. “Still brewing? I guess that’s what happens when you buy the cheapest model refurbished,” she mumbled, more for herself than anything else. Ever since Steve- ‘No, that’s not his name,’ her inner thoughts voiced. Ever since Poseidon had left them, she’d hardly talked to anyone outside of her job in the candy shop. “I don’t think Percy really counts as human interaction,” she mused aloud, gently caressing some of her son’s dark locks, brushing them off of his forehead.

Suddenly, the coffeemaker beeped, loud and annoying. The noise awoke the sleeping babe in her arms, emitting his own piercing shriek that turned into wails. Quickly, she silenced the infernal machine, then focused on the real problem: Percy was now wide-awake. A loud banging on the wall nearest them had her glancing up in fright.

“Oi! Keep it down in there!! Some of us are trying to sleep!” The gruff shout belonged to John, their most tolerable neighbor. ‘We aren’t his most tolerable neighbors, though.’ Sally made a mental note to bring some goodies home from work that night as an apology. She kept rocking baby Percy, finally able to calm his cries. However, from the looks of it, Percy was wide awake and going to be for a while.

“You may take after your father in looks, but you’ve certainly got my bad habits,” Sally teased, booping her son lightly on the nose. Percy giggled at that, latching on to his mother’s finger with his own tiny hand and holding on as though it were a lifeline.

She reached into a cabinet and pulled out a chipped mug, frowning slightly at a crack that seemed to be forming on the side. ‘Hopefully it still works, Ste…Poseidon bought it for me on our first date.’ As she poured hot coffee into the mug that was already filled with so many memories, she thought about all their firsts. “So many of them,” she whispered, almost longingly. For her, it had been the first actual boyfriend she’d ever had, her first time, her first true love. ‘It wasn’t his first true love,’ the voice that so often liked to ruin her good memories pointed out. ‘There were so many before you, and there will be so many when you’re dead and gone.’

Sally frowned, trying to ignore the sadness creeping into what felt like her very soul, gripping her core so tightly it threatened to extinguish any happiness and light that dwelled there. “Yes, but that doesn’t make our love any less true. He loves me, I love him.” She had given Percy his pacifier back, which had fallen to the ground after the coffeemaker had so rudely awakened him, and he had focused most of his attention on it. She looked adoringly at his cherubic face and stated, “Percy is proof of our love.”

‘Yes, but to him, you will always be the other woman, the mistress. He has a wife, and many other children, most of them conceived much like Percy. Eventually, his love and interest will fade, you will be left alone, and Percy may leave, too.’

Ignoring her inner voice, she picked up her still-steaming mug and brought it to her lips. Though it was still too hot for consumption, she kept sipping at it anyways, desperate for some type of distraction. Her eyes began to wander about the small apartment, until they alighted on a familiar gift, one that Poseidon had given her shortly before he had gone away.

“If you ever need me,” he had explained, “take a drachma from the pool and toss it into the sea spray from this fountain.” The fountain in question was exquisite, a small and ornate thing in the shape of a waterfall. It had no visible or attached water source, but, somehow, it continuously supplied itself with ocean water. It was covered in beautiful stones and shells, and it glimmered slightly in the dim light from the kitchen. It also supplied an endless amount of mist, creating the ideal conditions for a rainbow.

“If there ever were a time that I truly needed him, it would probably be now,” Sally mumbled, leaving her coffee behind and bringing herself and Percy over to the intricate fountain. Fishing in the small pool at it’s base, Sally procured a shiny drachma, holding it up for Percy to look at. “Percy, why don’t we call Daddy? Don’t you wanna see your Daddy?”

The baby in her arms reached out his little arms, hands straining to get at the coin held just out of his reach.

“No Percy, these aren’t for babies to play with,” his mother chided lightly, smiling a little. “Though I take it from your enthusiastic response, you want to call Daddy?” This time, she didn’t wait for another reaction. Turning on a small, electric lamp she kept by the fountain, she watched as a beautiful rainbow appeared in the spray. She pressed a quick kiss to the coin, uttering, “Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering,” before tossing the drachma directly into the beautifully colored spray. “Poseidon,” she breathed as the coin disappeared.

An image began to form in the mist from the fountain. Slowly, a dark-haired man came into view, the image so close-up that she could see eyes as blue-green as the ocean. Immediately, a booming voice came from the image.

“Not right now, Sally.” With a waved hand, the man forced the image to dissipate, cutting off the connection.

Sally could only stare at the area where the Iris-message had once been, lips parted from an undelivered greeting. “Steven…” Her whisper broke the silence like the abrupt hang-up had broken her heart. A few tears began to spring from her eyes, quickly morphing into full-blown sobbing.

Percy soon added his own shrieks to his mother’s mournful weeping. Sally was so overcome with her grief at being rejected, being ignored, she could not bring herself to try to comfort the baby clutched tightly to her chest. Percy’s wails brought another round of pounding on the wall, John shouting for quiet once more. His shouts went unheeded, and, eventually, as the two figures continually wept, the pounding from the wall shifted to being someone pounding on their front door. Sally didn’t notice; her eyes squeezed shut and she tried to block out everything around her.

Eventually, a key sounded in the lock and the door was swiftly swung open. A haggard and unkempt man appeared, practically stumbling into the room. “Sally, I swear, your kid may be cute, but that’s not gonna make up for my lack of sle- Sally! What’s wrong,” he exclaimed, becoming more cognizant and aware of his surroundings. He rushed over to check on the woman who was now knelt on the ground cradling her child as she cried balefully. Touching her shoulder lightly, the man asked, “Sally? Is everything okay?”

Sally flinched at the contact, glancing up to find her landlord, of all people. “John? What are you doing here?” Becoming more self-aware, she quickly wiped at the tears still running down her face.

“I came in because you weren’t answering, and your kid was crying. I thought something was wrong, and apparently,” he answered, glancing at her up and down, “I was right. Sal, why are you crying? What happened?” John made eye contact and grasped the hand that wasn’t supporting Percy. “Tell me.”

Sally took in a deep, shaky breath, trying to regulate herself. “It’s nothing,” she responded after some silence, though she glanced away from his eyes, unable to keep his gaze. “Everything’s fine.”

“Bullshit, Sal, now tell me.”

“Can’t hide anything from you, can I, John?”

“Nope, and it’s all because you’re a shit liar.”

At that, Sally went quiet, biting her lip and trying to find a way to explain the cause of her meltdown. “I…my hus- er, Percy’s father,” she managed to stumble out. “He went away for…business, and he left Percy and I behind. He promised he’d be back soon, that he loved us, but…he hasn’t come home in months.” Fresh tears were beginning to build up in Sally’s eyes again as she went on. “He hasn’t called at all and I called him tonight, to check in with him, but he…he hung up on me! He’s gone and I don’t know when or if he’s coming back and I’m just so scared. I’m 26 with a baby, I’ve got a job that pays just above minimum wage and I can’t support me and Percy alone…”

Percy had been quiet since John had approached, silently clinging to Sally’s shirt as the gruff, bearded man was trying to comfort his mother. As Sally stared tearfully down at her son, she gently caressed his cheek, earning herself a smile. Percy’s smile was so beautiful, she couldn’t help but smile back, though it did not reach her eyes.

Meanwhile, John was trying to figure out what to do for Sally. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. “Sal, do you have a babysitter?”

Looking up from Percy, Sally blinked confusedly at her landlord. “Uh, yeah. I drop Percy off at her apartment on my way to work every day.”

“How much do you pay her?”

Again, though she was confused, Sally answered, “I end up paying her about $500 per month, I think. It was really a miracle, she’s home during most of the day and she asked for so little money, I just couldn’t refuse he-“

“Okay, Sally, I want you to let her know that you don’t need her to watch Percy anymore.”

“John, are you crazy! I can’t just not have a sitter for Percy, and I can’t bring him to wor-“

“You don’t have to worry, Sal. I’ll watch him.”

“You,” Sally asked incredulously. “But why?”

“Because you’re suffering, and I’d like to think that we’re…friends. Besides, it’ll give me something to do in the daytime besides fixing leaky faucets and waiting around for Anthony to get home.”

“John, that’s really sweet of you, but I can’t ask that of you.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not asking. I’m telling you. I promise I can handle taking care of Percy.”

“If you’re really sure,” Sally said slowly, getting to her feet from where she knelt on the floor.

John also stood up from his crouch next to her. “Of course. I’m sure the $500 extra per month will help out at least a little.” He sighed, taking in the somewhat messy apartment. “Maybe you could use some of the money to hire a decorator; I know a few good ones.”

“Oh haha, very funny John,” Sally remarked drily, rolling her eyes at him.

“To be completely honest, I was only partially joking…”

Scoffing, Sally noticed that Percy had managed to drift off to sleep. “Finally. Hold on John, let me just put Percy down in his crib and I’ll be right back.” Carefully, Sally picked her way to the her and Percy’s currently shared bedroom and laid her son gently amidst his green and blue blankets. “There we are,” she whispered. “All nice and cozy.” Pressing a quick kiss to his forehead, Sally quickly exited before she accidentally made some sort of noise and woke him once more.

As Sally re-entered the dining-kitchen-living room, she found John staring at the fountain. “Steven gave that to me shortly before he left. When he did, he promised that I could call him if I ever needed anything.” Her red-rimmed eyes felt like they might tear up again, but after a few moments, nothing came. ‘All dried out, I guess,’ she thought to herself.

“Well, he had excellent taste. Too bad he apparently had commitment issues.”

Sally found that hilarious. “Commitment issues barely even covers it,” she managed to say through her laughter. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he invented commitment issues.” Though John was not in the know about ‘Steven’, Sally couldn’t help herself. “He and his extended family are practically all the same in a sense. They can’t seem to get it together. I think he and his brother might be the worst of the pack, though.”

“Honey, if you ask me, you should change the lock, lose his number, and never think about him again.” John rolled his eyes and grimaced. “One of my exes practically did the same thing. We settled down, signed the lease for an apartment, we even submitted papers for adoption. I thought we were perfect.” John’s eyes softened. “Turns out, he wasn’t that into it. He ran off after some twink, didn’t hear from him for over 3 months. By then, I’d blocked him, sold all his stuff, and when he showed up to try and come back into my life, I punched him.”

Sally grimaced but accepted the advice without much hesitation. “I guess I thought we’d be together for a long time…I knew it wasn’t going to be forever, but I kinda figured he’d at least stick around, if not for me, then for our son.” Sighing, Sally sank onto the couch, gesturing to the loveseat and the beaten-up recliner. “I made some coffee if you wanna stick around and get comfortable.”

“As much as I’d love to have a girl’s night with you, Sal, I’ve got to sleep. Not all of us can chug a gallon of coffee instead of sleeping for 8 hours and still function right.” John began to walk towards the door.

“John!” He turned back at Sally’s call. “Thank you. You’re doing so much for me, I don’t know how to repay you.”

John just smiled at her, a genuine one that briefly eclipsed the tiredness in his eyes. “Just be happy. I want you to be happy.” At that, he turned around and left the apartment, closing and locking the door behind him.

Sally sat on the couch for a bit, mulling over John’s words. ‘Be happy,’ she thought. ‘What will make me happy?’ As she kept wondering, she stood and grabbed her now cold cup of coffee, chugging it down as she walked towards the still-full pot. While she poured herself a warm cup, her mind went back to the experience that John had shared with her. “Well, as much as I’d like to punch a god in the face, I can’t see that happening. But…” She trailed off as she brought the mug to her lips. ‘It would be a shame if he came back to find none of his stuff is here anymore,’ that voice in her head that had previously been tearing her down said.

As Sally drained her newest cup of coffee, she smirked as she made her way into the spare bedroom, the one she used to stay in. Opening the closet, she began going through all of his things, pulling them out and laying them all on the bare mattress. “This is going to be fun,” she giggled to herself, pulling the suitcase he had brought with him. “Time to get packing.”


	2. 2

6:30 rolled around that evening and Sally gratefully locked the door of the now-empty store. She was practically dead on her feet; the night was finally taking its toll on her now that she no longer had any coffee coursing through her. She changed out of her uniform in a back room and finally headed out the door and into the alley that led behind the store.

Twenty minutes of walking and she was finally on the subway home, standing huddled in a corner due to the masses of people cramped inside the car. Her phone buzzed, and she eagerly freed it from her pocket, knowing it was from John. She offered up another prayer of thanks to whatever deity was listening that she was granted such a helpful and kind friend like him.

+John: Percy’s getting a little cranky. He went through all his milk already, any suggestions to get him to calm down?

+Sally: If he doesn’t need to be changed, then just carrying him around and rocking him should work. I’m on my way home now, I’ll be there in 30. Thanks again for doing this, John. You don’t know how much this means to me.

+John: Don’t worry about it, Sal. Adult life is hard without a kid to top it all off. I’ve got your back.

Sally leaned back and had to hold back a few thankful tears. ‘It wouldn’t be this hard, if his father were still here,’ she thought bitterly. Shaking away that train of thought, she let her mind wander to the room. The place full of Poseidon’s old clothes, souvenirs, and other assorted trinkets and belongings he had accrued in their brief year and a half together. She had made decent headway into packing all of his things up in bags, but there was still so much of it. ‘I wonder how much any of that stuff will go for? Maybe it’ll be enough for a month’s worth of living expenses…’

She was jostled a bit as people got on and off the train, but she stayed firmly in her little corner. Her eyes were drawn to suspicious man, ruggedly handsome. ‘Almost _too_ handsome…’ she thought as she stared at him a bit. He was wearing sunglasses and a trench coat, his golden locks shoulder length and stylishly unkempt.

Suddenly, the man in question looked over at her, catching her gaze, at least she assumed since she couldn’t see his eyes. A smirk rolled across his face, making Sally grateful for the great distance and amount of people between her and the stranger.

A practically unintelligible voice came on over the speaker in the car, and Sally picked out the name of her stop from the garbled mess. Warily glancing over at the man to be sure he was staying put, she gently began to shoulder her way through the throng of people between her and the door. The train began to slow, and Sally was prepared to get off the train. A buzz from her phone distracted her momentarily.

She glanced down and found a picture message from John. Opening it, she was greeted by a picture of Percy, looking grumpy and a little tired nestled among some blankets on John’s couch. ‘Aww, he’s just so precious.’ The subway came to a complete stop and she eagerly exited with the other people, forgetting completely about the strange man she had been keeping an eye on, too distracted by thoughts of her son waiting for her.

“Sally Jackson?” The deep, husky voice startled her, and she looked for the source. There, behind her was the man in the trench coat, sunglasses removed and piercing blue eyes boring into her.

“Um, yes?” Sally was worried, she did not know this man. She was still in the busy metro station but for some reason, no one was around them. ‘The Mist! It’s keeping people away. But who is this?’ Taking a step back, her hand slowly crept into her purse at her side, gripping the bottle of pepper spray ever so tightly.

“No need to worry, I’m not here to hurt you or anything.” He made no move towards her.

‘That’s what someone who would want to hurt me would say,’ Sally thought as she narrowed her eyes at this man, who was now reaching into the inner part of his jacket. Quickly she whipped out the pepper spray and aimed it at his face. “Stay back, slut!”

“No no no no no, wait, Ms. Jackson! I’m just making a delivery! I swear upon the Styx that I mean you no harm!”

The vow startled Sally, she hadn’t even heard Poseidon make one of those vows before. “A delivery? Then why are you following me and not just dropping it off at my address?” She was still suspicious, but she lowered the pepper spray, causing the man to visibly relax.

“Thank the gods, I may be immortal, but that stuff still hurts like hell.”

‘So he’s an immortal,’ she pondered. ‘Is he a god? Or maybe he’s just-‘

“Allow me to introduce myself, Ms. Jackson. By the way, may I call you Sally?” A brief nod from her, and he continued. “Sally, my name is Hermes. You may know me as the messenger of Olympus.”

Sally exhaled sharply. “Do you have a message for me? Is it from…” She trailed off, unable to say his name.

“Yes, Poseidon sent me.” He reached into his coat once more and withdrew a large, legal-sized envelope. “Here, he wanted me to give this to you.”

Sally reached out and grasped it, pulling it from his outstretched hand. Neatly written across the back in loopy, flowing cursive was her name. She brushed her hand over the familiar script, standing there practically gawping at it.

“Well, I’ve gotta get going. It was nice to meet you, Sally.” Hermes turned and began to walk away, until he turned back to her. “Oh I almost forgot, would you like to fill out a Customer Satisfaction Survey? It’ll only take a few seconds.”

Brought out of her trance caused by the handwriting, Sally forced a smile and nodded. “Sure, sure, that sounds nice. I don’t have a pen, though, could I borrow one?”

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s a verbal survey.” Hermes reached back into his jacket and pulled out his caduceus from seemingly nowhere. “These are my assistants, George and Martha. They’ll be asking you the questions.”

“Yessss, hello dear. Are you ready to begin the questionnaire,” asked the snake called Martha.

“Umm, sure?” Sally was very confused and slightly off-put due to the talking snakes. She really hadn’t had that much exposure to the world of the gods, Poseidon had always tried to shield her from it in their time together.

“Excellent,” hissed the one called George. “On a ssscale of one through ten, one being the leassst and ten being the greatessst, how sssatissfied are you with your delivery?”

“I’ll go with a solid 10,” Sally offered with a smile.

“Noted,” hissed Martha. “And, on a ssscale from one through ten, one being the leassst and ten being the greatessst, how likely are you to recommend thisss delivery ssservice to sssomeone?”

“Well, to be honest, I’ll have to go with a 1. I don’t know anyone that I _could_ recommend it to. Sorry.” Sally shrugged apologetically.

“Well, that concludes the survey. Thank you for your time, Sally,” Hermes interjected. He shoved his caduceus back into the inner part of his trench coat, George and Martha hissing the whole way. “The Mist will keep people away from you until you reach home, so you don’t have to worry about any of the nasties that might be lurking, human or otherwise.”

“Oh, um, thank you, Lord Hermes.” Not knowing what to do, Sally curtsied, an altogether odd sight in this day and age. Realizing what she had done, her face flushed with embarrassment and she immediately looked everywhere but at the god.

“Just Hermes is fine, Sally. No need to be embarrassed. Believe it or not, it happens more often than you’d think. Lots of people are just polite like that.” He laughed a little, much to Sally’s chagrin. “Anyways, I must be going. Lots of deliveries to make and such.”

“Oh right, um, bye…” Sally trailed off as she watched him briskly walk away. ‘Goddammit,’ she thought, ‘Why are they all so hot?!’ Another buzz from her phone had her remembering her motherly responsibilities. The picture from John this time was of a sobbing Percy, cradled gently in John’s arms. Quickly, she typed out a reply.

+Sally: Sorry, John! I got held up at the station by some guy delivering me a letter from Steven…I’m on my way!

+John: No worries, Percy’s just getting a little crankier. He wants you and not me, apparently. What kind of letter was it that it had to be delivered to you at the metro station??

+Sally: No clue. I haven’t opened it yet.

The letter in question was really more of a package. It was decently thick and seemed to have a lot of paper inside. As she walked as fast as her legs would carry her home, she could feel some of the contents of the envelope shifting ever so slightly. ‘Definitely paper,’ she confirmed. She was extremely grateful that the Mist’s effects still surrounded her as she hurried home. Some of the people she was passing looked less than pleasant.

Finally she got to the apartment building she called home, hopping in the elevator and hitting the “4” button. The whole ride up she anxiously glanced at the envelope, wondering what it could be. ‘Good thing we were never married,’ she thought. ‘If we were and he sent this, I’d think it was divorce papers.’ The doors dinged open and she quickly stepped along the hallway.

After two knocks on his door, John answered with a sniveling Percy in hand. “Oh thank God,” John exclaimed. “I was so worried when you hadn’t made it back. It’s already 8:00!”

“I know, I know, I’m so sorry, John. The whole thing with the letter happened and I guess I just lost track of time. I’m so sorry you had to have Percy for so-“

“I wasn’t worried about having Percy for so long, I was worried about you, Sal.” John fixed her with a meaningful gaze. “It gets so dangerous out there, and you’re always by yourself. If something happened to you I’d be beside myself.”

“Thank you, John. I appreciate that.” Sally reached for Percy and John easily handed him over. “And thank you for watching my little man! Mommy’s back, Percy!”

Percy brightened up when his mom embraced him, and he was giggling easily at Sally and the weird faces she was making for him.

“His bag is in the kitchen, Sal, why don’t you come in and sit down. I’ve got a cabernet with your name on it.”

“Oh I couldn’t John, you’re too nice. I’ve gotta go cook dinner before it gets to be too late.”

“What a coincidence,” John gasped in faux shock. “I just finished making spaghetti and meatballs with homemade tomato sauce. You should join me, since Anthony already called and told me he wouldn’t be making it home tonight. The wine pairs really well with everything~” he sing-songed.

“Really, John, this is too much, I can’t accept. You’re already doing so much for me.”

“Nonsense. Sally, you told me you got a letter from _him_. I know for a fact that you haven’t got a drop of liquor anywhere in your apartment, and honey, you’re gonna need some to get through that,” he said, gesturing at thicc envelope sticking out of her too-small purse.

Rolling her eyes, Sally laughed drily. “Tell you what. I’ll come in and eat, but you have to open the letter. Even with a whole cellar of wine I don’t think I’ll be able to go through it.”

“Sal, you’ve got yourself a deal.” John grinned and ushered her inside before shutting the door.

Inside John’s apartment, everything seemed so perfect. It was by no means much bigger than her own living space, but everything was so organized and open that Sally really thought that it was just that much bigger. “Your place is amazing, John. And you decorated this all yourself?”

“Oh no, no,” John laughed. “I designed the layout and everything, but I hired someone else to do the rest from there. The one thing that I have no problem throwing money towards is decorating this place.”

Sally had stopped in the middle of the walkway, so John slipped by her and made his way towards the kitchen/dining area. “C’mon Sally, I made up a plate for you already.”

“Wow, so you already knew I’d just cave and come in? Am I really that predictable?”

“I just had faith in my persuasive skills. It’s how I raise the rent for some of the nicer apartments, like the ones on the fifth floor.”

“Hmmm.” Sally sat at the table, resting Percy in a sitting position on her lap. She started bouncing her leg and Percy along with it.

John walked over with two wine glasses and a rather large bottle of wine. “Here we go, all ready.” Two plates of pasta were already laid out at opposite ends of the table, with a large serving dish of more noodles in the center along with a saucepan.

“John, everything smells so good.”

“Thank you, I do try.” Setting the two glasses down, he uncorked the bottle of wine and began to pour. “Just say when.” He kept pouring and Sally made direct eye contact with him as he glanced between her and the glass. The glass filled up more and more. “Jeesh, already getting into it I see.”

As the wine almost reached the rim of the glass, Sally called out, “That’s perfect, thanks.”

John carefully handed her the glass and rolled his eyes. “If you drink me out of wine tonight, I’m just letting you know that I _will_ be very passive aggressive towards you for upwards of a week and I will turn Percy against you. Somehow.”

“Good luck with that, I’d like to see you try,” Sally snorted, before gulping down half of her wine. Setting the glass down, she tugged the envelope from her purse with some difficulty, due to Percy clinging to one of her arms. Flopping it on the table near John, she asked, “So we doing this now or…”

“Oh Sal, we haven’t even gotten tipsy, you’re nowhere near ready.”

Rolling her eyes at him, Sally bent as gracefully as she could over Percy and scarfed down her pasta, and John followed suit. Fifteen minutes, two more glasses of wine, and an extra helping of pasta and meatballs later, Sally scooted herself and her chair over towards John’s side of the table as John began ripping open the large envelope.

Immediately, the top paper within slipped out onto the table, a small black card affixed to the page.

“Umm, Sally…I think these are bank statements…”

“What do you mean? Is it like a bill? Did that bastard send me a bill?!!” Sally, a little flushed from imbibing so much wine, shoved her chair back and stormed over next to John, clutching Percy to her chest tightly.

“No, nothing like that…these look like accounts…I think he set you up a credit card and trust funds, for you and the little guy.” Somehow, despite drinking the same amount as Sally, John seemed to be less affected.

“What does this mean?” Sally was confused, her face twisting at this new information.

Taking a deep breath, John looked over more of the papers held within. “If I had to guess, I’d say you wouldn’t have to work another day in your life. Girl, you had yourself some kind of uber-rich sugar daddy or something.”

Sally went from confused to shocked. She couldn’t process this. ‘What is going on? What does this mean?’ Stepping back over to her chair, she collapsed into it, still clutching Percy. Nestling her nose into his short dark hair, Sally concentrated on the scent of her son’s hair. ‘He smells…just like his father.’ A tear came to her eye. Slowly, Sally began to form words aloud. “I guess, if he’s sending us all this, he really is never coming back…”

A strong hand on her shoulder drew her attention back to John and her surroundings. “Hey, Sal,” he started gently. “Everything’s gonna be okay. You hear? It’s gonna be okay.”

Sally nodded, smiling despite her tears. In her head, she repeated those words like a mantra, making it her vow. ‘Everything is going to be okay.’ She would make sure of it.


	3. 3

_A few years later; Percy age 4_

“Uncle John, Uncle John,” Percy cried excitedly, latching on to the man’s leg like a koala. “What did you bring me for my birthday?”

Chuckling, John set the large present wrapped in shiny blue paper on a chair before scooping the boy up into a hug. “Guess you’ll have to wait til later to find out, little man.”

Pouting, Percy squirmed out of the hug and dropped to the floor, running back to the kitchen where his mom was pulling a blue-frosted cake from the fridge. “Mooooom, Uncle John won’t tell me what he brought me.”

Rolling her eyes and trying to hide her smile, Sally squatted down to be face to face with her son. “Percy, it’s supposed to be a surprise. It’s not like you’ll never know what it is; you get to open it later, after cake.”

“But mom-“

“Percy,” she warned, giving him a Mom Looktm that she had perfected over the years.

Still pouting, Percy huffed and kicked the ground, causing his sneakers to light up blue and green.

Smiling, Sally reached over and ruffled his wavy raven locks. “Why don’t we have some cake.”

Suddenly, Percy’s face lost its pout and pure wonder took its place. “Before dinner? For real?”

“Yes, for real. But only because it’s your birthday and I love you so much.”

John smiled as he watched Sally get up and cut a slice of cake for Percy. “Really, Sal, you spoil him too much. Now he’s going to want dessert before dinner every day.”

“And what’s so bad about that?” Sally and Percy shared a conspiratorial glance and broke out into giggles.

“Oh god, now there’s two of them,” John complained to no one about their synchronous way of spouting the same line. “Really Sal, he’s even got the inflection down. It’s a little scary, to be honest.”

“That just means that he’s learning. Obviously, I’m indoctrinating him early, slowly turning him into my clone to carry on my life’s work of annoying you,” Sally quipped.

Percy frowned. “Mom, what does ‘indoctrining’ mean?”

Turning back to Percy, Sally found his face covered in blue and most of the cake gone. Sighing, she grabbed a damp rag from the sink and began wiping him up. “Indoctrinating, Percy, means to teach or sometimes to brain wash.”

“Oh.” Sally finished wiping his face and then put the rag back. “Can I open presents now, mom?”

“Someone’s got a one-track mind,” John laughed, walking over to the chair he’d left the box on. Coming back with it, he set it before Percy. “Have at it, you little monster.”

Eagerly tearing away the shiny paper, Percy’s eyes lit up upon seeing what he had been given. “Mom, look! It’s the Winx Club action figures!” Immediately, Percy began tearing off the individual packaging over his favorite, Aisha.

Behind him, Sally sent John a look.

“C’mon Sal, what’s wrong with him wanting to play with dolls,” John whispered, watching Percy run around the small living room, playing with his new presents.

“That’s not a problem,” Sally sighed. “The problem is, I just got him to stop watching the show at ever waking moment. You’ve probably just ruined my whole plan to not have him watch TV all the time.”

John stared at her for a minute before breaking out into laughter.

“Stop laughing, it’s not funny,” Sally huffed, walking over and swiftly giving him a light punch to the arm. “I’ve got enough problems concentrating on my writing as it is, I don’t need to be thinking about who Bloom and her friends are fighting with the power of friendship and love.”

“Alright, alright, stop,” John whined, rubbing his arm in faux hurt. “If it’s really a problem, just let him watch it over at my place. I mean, he practically lives with me and Anthony, what’s another few hours.”

Raising her eyebrows, Sally looked at him for a while before nodding. “Besides that, thank you, John. Really. I don’t know what I’d do without you to help me with Percy.” Sally’s eyes glistened as she wrapped John into a tight hug.

Patting her on the back, John replied, “I’m sure you’d have managed just fine without me, Sal.”

“But I didn’t have to, and for that I’m eternally grateful,” Sally said, giving him a meaningful look full of love and appreciation. “You and Anthony are angels-”

“Alright, alright, now before the waterworks start, I brought a little something-something,” John easily cut in, changing the subject. Reaching into a knapsack at his side, he withdrew a large, paper-wrapped bottle. “Just a little adult juice. It is the weekend after all.”

Rolling her eyes and going to grab two long-stemmed wine glasses from a cupboard, Sally snarked, “You know, it’s a good thing I was able to cut back my hours at the store, otherwise you’d have to start drinking alone. Again.” Setting them down, she collapsed into her chair and glanced over at Percy still engrossed in playing with his new toys. “I give it about five minutes before he comes in here and asks if he can watch that show.”

Waggling his eyebrows, John replied, “I think he’ll last a good ten at least-“

“Mooooom!”

Giving John an ‘I told you so’ look, Sally turned to Percy, who was now right in front of her, carrying his favorite figure and bouncing excitedly on his heels.

“Can I please watch it? Pleeeeease?”

“You’re lucky it’s your birthday, mister.” Getting up, Sally went to the other side of the room where the TV stood and flipped through the many DVDs until she found the right one. “Pizza’s on the way, honey. Try not to fall asleep.”

Percy looked offended. “I’m not gonna fall asleep! I’m gonna stay up all night!”

Sally gave a knowing look to John, who had already started on his first glass of wine, and shook her head, knowing her son would make it through three episodes before passing out.

John just chuckled, before gesturing to her own glass which had been filled in her absence.

With Percy settled in to watch the Winx Club, she retreated back to the kitchen area with John. Sinking back into her chair, she snatched up her glass and inspected its contents. “Blue? You shouldn’t have.”

“I figured a little blueberry wine would be a great way to celebrate our birthday boy…and your break up with that disgusting man.”

“Gabe wasn’t that bad-“

“Sally Jackson, he was worse than bad! There are areas around this building from when he used to visit that are now permanently covered in his stench! Not to mention that he didn’t even like a lot of things about your life, including, I don’t know, your son!”

Sighing and chugging down her whole glass of blue wine, Sally shrugged in defeat. “You’re right. As usual. I just…I really thought I might have found someone after so long.”

Taking her hand, John comforted her. “Dating is hard, Sal. It took me years of dating to find Anthony, and even after we found each other, it took so much work. Just give it time, you’ll find someone.”

“I know, I know. But I just…I need something! Some kind of stability. I can’t just keep pining over Percy’s father, he’s never coming back.”

“It’ll get easier, I promise. Just keep holding on.”

Snatching up the bottle, Sally refilled both their glasses, practically to the rim this time. “In the meantime, I’ve got you to keep me company.”

John leaned over and tapped their glasses together with a CLINK. “We’ve got each other,” he reminded her. “Anthony’s new job has him traveling everywhere.” Taking a long sip, John sat back and relaxed.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. “That’ll be the pizza.” Sally got up and grabbed the money for it from the counter and walked out to the door, noticing Percy’s slowly drooping eyelids. Shaking her head, she opened the door and came face to face with the one and only messenger god.

“Sally Jackson! Long time no see.”

Mildly surprised, Sally offered, “Lord Hermes. A pleasure, I’m sure. What are you doing here?”

“Just my usual,” he responded, holding out a pizza box he was holding.

“You’re…delivering pizza? To me?”

Hermes chuckled. “I mean, it’s in my department, technically. Besides, I was already heading over, figured I’d just bring it along.” Pulling a small, oblong box from within his jacket, he placed it on top of the pizza and again offered it to her.

Hesitantly, Sally accepted both boxes, placing the cash in his hand. “Should I…do you accept cash tips or do you only take drachmas?”

“You are hilarious, Sally. Always good for a laugh.” He smiled, before making the money in his hand disappear. “How’s my little cousin doing?”

“Percy’s doing fine.” The awkwardness was so thick in the air, it was practically visible.

“Well, let him know I hope he has a good birthday.”

“Of course, Lord Hermes.”

“Right, well, that’s that.” Hermes quickly turned away and walked away down the hallway to the elevator.

Sally just nodded to herself and went back into the apartment, closing the door and resting against it for a while.

“Sal, you get the pizza or nah? I can’t get drunk on an empty stomach,” John called from the kitchen.

“Yeah…yeah I’m coming.” ‘I’m just still getting used to gods showing up on my doorstep out of the blue.’ She quickly walked back to where John sat. “Percy, come get some pizza!”

Slowly, Percy shuffled into the kitchen, looking like a sleepy kitten. “Can I eat out there,” he asked, indicating the area by the TV. Bloom and everyone were just about to save the day.”

“Sure, sweetie, just eat over your plate, and remember to use your napkin, not your shirt.”

Nodding, Percy shuffled to where she held out a plate of pizza and a napkin for him. “Thanks, mom.”

Sally smiled as she watched him go back to watching the show.

“He’s just about to drop off,” John commented knowingly. “Maybe you should send him off to bed. Soon, you won’t be able to just pick him up and carry him to bed. Get him used to going to bed on his own.”

“It’s his birthday, John,” she exclaimed in faux shock. “I dare you to try to get him to go to bed.”

Raising his hands in a sign of defeat, he responded, “Alright, you got me there. Just something to start thinking about.”

“Careful, John, all this parenting you’re doing might start to give you wrinkles,” Sally laughed, causing him to unconsciously brush his fingers along his faint frown wrinkle.

“I won’t stand for this attack on my person. Keep it up and I’m taking my wine back home with me.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“You know I would, I have no problem shot-gunning this whole bottle,” he said, gesturing to the bottle.

“There’s not even that much left,” Sally responded.

“Oh ye of little faith,” John sighed, before reaching into his knapsack and withdrawing another paper-wrapped bottle. “I’ve got another one after this one, too.”

Shaking her head, Sally sighed. “If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say you were an alcoholic.”

“Only on the weekends.”

They both laughed at that. “By the way, Sal, what was that little box you had with the pizza?”

“Oh, I think it’s for Percy. From…you know…”

“You mean to tell me that that man actually cares enough to send a present? Oh my goodness,” John gasped sarcastically.

“C’mon, John, its not like he’s not allowed to send presents. And I’m sure Percy won’t mind having another present.”

“Still, maybe just, look at what it is first, make sure it’s appropriate…”

“I guess,” Sally sighed, getting up and snatching the small box before settling back into her chair. “It looks like some kind of jewelry. Maybe a necklace?”

“If it’s not solid gold and covered in diamonds, maybe send it back,” John joked, earning him the stink eye from Sally. “Kidding, kidding. Now open it!”

Gently ripping off the paper, Sally’s suspicions were confirmed that it was jewelry when she saw the black velvet of the actual box. Flipping open the long lid, a simple silver rope chain with a bluish-green stone attached lay nestled within. A note was taped to the inside of the lid.

_Sally,_

_As I am sure you know, the scent and presence of a demigod will attract unwanted attention from unsavory entities. This charm will protect Perseus and mask his scent. Have him wear it always._

_Ψ_

After reading the short note, Sally crumpled it up and tossed it into the garbage. Turning the box, she showed John its contents.

“Well, bully for him! He remembered his son’s favorite color!”

“I should hope so, it’s something they share tastes in.”

John just shrugged. “So, you going to give it to him now or later?”

“Later,” she sighed, setting it down and picking up her wine glass. “Tomorrow.”

Clinking their glasses together once more, they both took a large gulp. “Alright then,” John stated. “That’s enough of that. So tell me, how’s your writing project coming along?”

Later, after John had gone, Sally scooped Percy’s limp, sleeping form from the ground and carried him to his room. Laying him on his bed and wrapping him in is covers, she pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Happy Birthday, Percy.” She pulled the present from Poseidon from her pocket and set it on Percy’s nightstand for him to find in the morning. “Goodnight.”


	4. 4

_3 years later; Percy age 7_

Sally woke up to the feeling of a large object jumping into her bed. Groaning, she turned away from where she felt the impact. “Percy, it’s too early. Go back to sleep.”

“But, Mom, Santa came! He came and there’s so many presents under the tree!” Percy excitedly began jumping up and down, much to his mother’s displeasure.

“Percy, what if Santa knew you weren’t letting Mommy sleep in on Christmas? He could take away presents from you.”

“He…he wouldn’t do that,” Percy exclaimed, though his tone suggested that now he feared that Santa would indeed take back his presents.

“Tell you what. Mommy still needs to sleep, so why don’t you come and cuddle with me?”

A few moments passed with silence and no movement. Foreboding thoughts of a tantrum from Percy began surfacing until, with a little squirming and bouncing, he managed to wriggle over his mother and curl up against her.

“Oh Percy, please, not your feet,” Sally complained as her son’s ice blocks for feet came into contact with her leg. Her complaints went unheeded; in fact, it almost seemed like the cold intensified. Trying her best to ignore her son’s snickers, Sally pressed a kiss to the crown of his head and drifted back off to sleep.

All too soon, a booming knock startled Sally from her extra rest. “Sal, let us in! We’ve got presents!”

Grumbling grumpily, Sally unentangled her arms from Percy and crawled out of bed, grabbing her fluffy robe and sliding into her slippers as she left the room.

Another booming knock as she was shuffling tiredly to the door had her calling, “Keep it down, people are trying to sleep!” Upon reaching the door, she yanked it open, turning her grouchiest glare onto John and Anthony. “I swear to the gods, if I could file a noise complaint against you I would.”

John just chuckled, pressing a quick kiss to Sally’s cheek as he slipped past her and into the apartment. “Oh, you. Just so full of the Christmas Spirit, I see.” As typical of all his visits, his satchel dedicated to carrying wine was strapped across his chest, the sound of bottles clinking lightly within. “Keep up this kind of humbug attitude and you won’t be getting any of my holiday reds.”

Before Sally could snark back at him, the pattering of little feet caused all to turn towards the sound. Percy burst from the bedroom and came hurdling towards the door.

“Uncle John, Uncle John!” Upon reaching him, Percy flung himself at the man like a projectile, and John easily caught him, spinning him around a few times.

“What’s all the excitement for? I just saw you last night.”

“Santa came last night! Come look, come look!” Wriggling out of John’s arms, Percy dropped to the ground and went barreling back down the hallway and into the living room area.

Smiling, John followed slower, walking into the room. Immediately, shock took over his face. “My goodness, I guess someone was a good boy this year!” Turning to Sally, he mouthed a quick, ‘What the fuck?’ at the sheer amount of wrapped gifts.

Sally, still sleepy but following close behind, shrugged and gave a lopsided smile. “I might have gone a bit overboard…”

“A bit? I just hope he doesn’t start expecting this every year, otherwise you’re gonna blow through all that money he gave you.”

Rolling her eyes, Sally began to feel the tiredness leave her. “Don’t worry, I didn’t go too far over the budget. Percy’s college fund is still safe,” she joked. “Anyways, I’m in desperate need of coffee. John, Anthony, do you want any?”

“Need you ask?”

“Anthony? Coffee?” A brief nod from Anthony had Sally heading to the kitchen to prep three mugs.

Suddenly, a light tap on her shoulder had her turning around, coming face to face with Anthony. “Here,” he said, holding out a small box. “I picked this up on my last trip; figured you might enjoy some exotic stuff or whatever.”

Sally unwrapped the gift to find a rather expensive bag of strong-smelling coffee. Smiling, she gave him a hug. “Thank you, Anthony. I do love coffee. You’ll have to tell me all about your trip later.”

He offered a brief, confirmatory nod before going back to join his partner in the living room with Percy.

“Percy! No opening presents until I’m there,” she called, before turning back to the mugs and coffeemaker to brew a fresh batch. “Now if you’d just work fast and not make that noise-“

Sally was cut off by a loud shrieking beep from the machine. “Yeah that’s the one,” she muttered spitefully at the old machine. “Oh well, I’ll have to see about getting a new one.”

While waiting for the coffee, she started loading a few dishes from the sink into the dishwasher. She had just begum humming aimlessly when another shrieking beep from the coffeemaker had her jumping out of her skin. At the time, she had been reaching for a large kitchen knife and her jerky movement had caused her to cut her fingertip open. “Shit,” she whispered, putting her finger in her mouth to stop the blood flow.

When she looked at her finger again, blood was still welling, despite the cut being shallow and small. Sally reached into an upper cabinet for a bandage, turning on the faucet as well. After she had washed the cut with soap and water, she dressed it with the bandage. “There, good as new.”

She then returned to the coffeemaker and poured out three mugs of the gifted coffee, setting them on a tray. As she walked with the tray, she smiled as she watched Percy climb up Anthony’s tall figure, trying to get to the man’s shoulders. “Careful, Percy, don’t fall.”

“Don’t worry, Sally. I’ll catch him if he does,” Anthony assured her.

Percy just giggled and jumped down. “Mom, can I open presents now?” Without waiting for a response, the little boy ran to the largest present, a rather awkwardly wrapped lump about as large as the boy himself. He turned his puppy dog eyes on his mother, begging to open it.

“Fine,” Sally sighed as she set the tray of coffees on the table and sunk down into the couch. “Try to keep the mess in one area.” As he began ripping open his presents, Sally leaned forward and snatched up a mug, nursing the liquid energy.

John immediately plopped down next to her, dropping a wrapped box into her lap. “Merry Christmas, Sal.”

Sally held up a finger for him to wait and began chugging her coffee like her life depended on it. Only after she let out a contented sigh did she give her attention to the gift. “You didn’t have to get me anything,” she said as she set her empty mug down on the floor.

“I know, but I wanted to. Besides, they were calling to me,” John replied, smiling.

She opened the gift and found a beautiful amethyst necklace with matching earrings. Underneath the jewelry was some folded-up fabric.

“Oh yeah, that shirt’s kind of a gag gift but not really,” John mentioned as she began unfolding it.

Holding it up, it read: I’m Nothing Without My Morning Coffee.

Rolling her eyes, she set it down. “Thank you, John. It’s perfect.” Then she pulled him into a tight hug. “I don’t even know what I’ll wear the necklace and earrings with; they’re too fancy for my day clothes and I rarely wear fancy stuff.”

“Well, I mostly bought the set for the necklace. That bitch at the store-“

“John! Not in front of Percy,” Sally exclaimed.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, John repeated, “That…b-word…at the store wouldn’t sell the necklace without the earrings. I swear, you can never trust anyone in sales. I bet if I’d called her manager, they would’ve sold me the necklace no problem, but Anthony here didn’t want me causing a scene.” He gave the man in question a playful shove. “Anyways, my point was, I wanted to get you the necklace because it reminded me of the one that what’s-his-name sent the little man. Now you two can match!”

Sally looked over at Percy then, who was still busy unwrapping his many presents. A mountain of crumpled wrapping paper threatened to topple over onto the seven-year-old, but he tirelessly continued adding more paper to the pile. A glimpse of silver flashed from his neck, reminding her of Poseidon’s gift all those years ago. “Thank you, John. It’s a nice sentiment, and it’s very beautiful. Though I doubt I’ll wear mine as much as Percy wears his.”

“Are you ever going to talk to him about his dad? Has he even asked about him,” Anthony suddenly questioned.

“No, Percy hasn’t really asked about him yet. I don’t want to bring it up, more for my own sake than his, but if he does want to know, I won’t withhold anything.”

“He really hasn’t? Hmm,” John mentioned thoughtfully. “Well, it’s not like he needs one, not when he’s got you, Sal. And us of course.”

Sally sent him a grateful smile. “It would be nice for him to have a father, I think. But I still don’t know if I want to even try. I mean, Gabe was just a disaster, and I don’t want to risk putting Percy in danger or making him unhappy.”

“Sal, if you’re happy, I bet Percy’ll be happy too. Just be open to it; you never know who’s going to walk into your life.”

She nodded. “I’ll keep my eyes peeled. Maybe I’ll hit it big again and get another rich one,” she joked.

“If you get tired of him, send him our way. We’ve been thinking about a third for a while,” Anthony smirked, poking John’s ribs. “This one’s very…greedy.”

“Oh my god, I didn’t want to know,” Sally screeched laughingly, throwing a pillow at a blushing John and a still-smirking Anthony. “Keep your sex life away from my ears!”

“Be glad the walls are as thick as they are,” Anthony added. “After we had them redone, we couldn’t even hear baby Percy, meaning you wouldn’t hear this screamer,” he said as he poked John again.

“Stahp! Please!”

“Mom what’s a ‘sex life’?”

At that, Sally froze, slowly turning to where Percy stood looking at her expectantly. Quickly, she shot a glare at the now giggling couple beside you, her eyes promising a painful death. “Nothing you need to worry about til you’re older, sweetie. Did you finish opening your presents?”

Percy took the bait and immediately began to list off everything ‘Santa’ had left for him. “He got me a bike, mom! And the box set of all the Winx Club! Now I can watch them whenever I want.”

“As long as you do your homework,” Sally reminded him. “I’ve been hearing from your teachers that you’ve been getting distracted in class and not turning in some of your assignments.”

“It’s not my fault! The words just…move around and stuff. I can’t read them…” Percy shyly shuffled his feet, embarrassed to admit it.

“It’s alright, Percy,” she assured. “I’ll help you with anything you need. I think Santa brought you some new books to practice on.”

“Oh yeah!” Percy scrambled back towards where he left his presents and came running back with a small pile of books. “What’s a ‘Magic Treehouse’?”

“I guess you’ll have to read the books and find out, won’t you?”

“You know, he might have dyslexia,” John cut in. “Maybe you can take him in to a specialist or something.”

“Only if it gets worse,” Sally responded. “If its just something he can work through, then it’ll be fine.”

“Mom, can we go to the park? Please? I wanna try out my new bike,” Percy pleaded, eagerly bouncing on his toes.

“Sure, sweetie. We just need to pick up around here first, and then we can walk down there.” Getting up from her comfortable position on the couch, she nearly tripped over her empty mug. She snatched it up, collecting John’s and Anthony’s now empty mugs and taking them back to the kitchen. “Oh, before I forget,” she exclaimed, rushing off into her bedroom. Moments later she reemerged carrying two gifts, swiftly delivering one to John and one to Anthony. “Merry Christmas to my favorite couple,” she said, smiling warmly.

John quickly ripped his open, finding a tarot deck and a folded T-shirt.

“I guess the ‘shirt as a gag’ idea was a shared one,” Sally added.

John unfolded his to reveal the message: If Lost, Please Return To Anthony.

Anthony had a good laugh and then proceeded to open his own gift, revealing a pair of cufflinks and yet another T-shirt. His read: I’m Anthony.

“I can’t believe you’ve done this,” John complained. “You’ve just basically pinpointed me as the bottom.”

“She’s not wrong, then,” Anthony muttered, trying very hard not to laugh at his partner’s faux outrage.

“So what did you get each other?” Sally was still giggling from John’s reaction.

“Great question, Sal,” John cut in. “What did you get me, dearest?”

Anthony just smirked and gestured towards the door. “I’ve got a nice package for you back at home.” He wiggled his eyebrows a little at that.

“Oooh, just what I wanted. How did you know?”

“Alright alright, not in front of the child, you two.” Sally rolled her eyes. “I guess you two will be exchanging gifts while we’re at the park?”

“Oh most definitely. I’ve got a few things I wanna give him,” John said, smirking all the while. Getting up, he tugged at Anthony’s arm, pulling him towards the door. “We’ll see you later, Sal. Remember, lunch at our place and then dinner here. And try to keep Percy away from my wine bag. I left it on the counter.” And then they were gone, the door closing behind them as they went back to their apartment.

“Alright, Percy, let’s get this place cleaned up,” Sally called.

Sighing, she stooped to pick up some loose wrapping paper. This was going to take a while.


End file.
